Starting Over

Chapter 8- Wait? What?

“Bridget, I love you!” Luke said as he came running through the kitchen towards Bridget.

HOLY SHIT! How did I not know this? Luke loves Bridget? Wow! Well, I guess I see it now. He’s always talking about her. I should have read this all over him weeks ago. She’s staring him down hard now. I know she wants to say something, but I don’t think she’s going to. She’s going to just turn and walk away. I guarantee it. Just as I made that thought, Bridget turned and ran up the stairs. Luke quickly followed behind her. This is not going to end well.

“Bridget! Look at me!” Luke yelled at Bridget.

 “Leave me alone!” Bridget screamed back at him. I heard the door slam.

I decided to go upstairs and make sure Luke doesn’t break down a door or anything like that. He’s been known to do that from time to time. I reached the top of the stairs to see him with his head leaning against her bedroom door. Luke really does love her. He’s crying. I’ve never seen Luke cry. Ever.

“Bridget, please. Just say something. Please,” Luke begged her, “I just told you that I love you.”

“Is everyone okay up here?” I asked Luke.

“She’s fine. Just ignoring me,” Luke responded with his head still against the door.

“Are you sure?” I questioned him.

“Dammit, yes. I’m sure,” Luke yelled.

I have to try to do something. I guess I’ll see if she will talk to me. I doubt she will, but it’s worth a shot.

I slowly walked to the door and knocked lightly, “Bridge, sweetie? You wanna talk?”

“Just not Luke. I can’t see him right now,” she yelled back.

I could hear her sobs even through the door. The look I was getting from Luke was something in between his ‘I want to kill you’ face and his ‘my wife just died and left me with two kids to raise alone’ face. He was heartbroken. He had pretty much poured his heart out to her and she shot him down. I probably would have felt the same way if it would have happened to me.

 “Just let me talk to her,” I told Luke as I went through the door, closing it quietly behind me.

I walked over to Bridget, who was sitting at the head of her bed with her knees pulled up and her head resting on them while she was crying.

“Come here, sweetie,” I said as she came crawling into my arms. I sat there and held her while she sobbed uncontrollably on my shoulder.

Bridget was like my little sister I never had. We weren’t really close, but I have been around enough to consider her family. She even kind of looks like me, well if you can look past our hair color difference. I feel so bad for her, but before I can help her I have to know how she feels about Luke. I have to go about this just right or I’ll get shoved out the door.

“So, are you ready to talk now?” I quietly asked Bridget.

She glanced up at me for a moment with tears still streaming down her face. I saw in her eyes the love she had for Luke, but she has to say it. She has to say it out loud, if not for anyone else but herself. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. She’s been through more shit than anyone I’ve known. Bridget lost her mom and uncle when she was four, in the same way almost. She’s lost grandparents who she was extremely close to. She’s raised Kenzie all by herself with no help from her dad. She’s fiercely independent. But she’s stubborn and set in her ways, yet she is the most compassionate person I’ve ever met too. She was the only person who never even considered giving up on Luke when Caroline died. She was determined to help him in any way she could. And she is doing a damn good job of it. Hell, I had pretty much damn near give up on him. So had LeClaire and that’s just damn sad. These last few weeks he’s starting to become himself again though, thanks to Bridget.